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Fifty-four percent of the top 25 universities provide gender
neutral restroom options
Offer gendei
neutral restror
2007 Geniu:
PSU ranked
for gender
neutrality
By Margaret Miceli
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | mcmso9B@psu.edij
Universities across the nation are moving toward fos
tering gender identity and expression by amending their
discrimination policies and adding gender-neutral bath
rooms and housing, according
to a new report.
Sponsored by the Gender Q|) thp
Public Advocacy Coalition, the
study found that 147 colleges W6D "T
and universities have added
gender identity and expression For a list of gender
to their non-discrimination neutral bathrooms
policies, 141 have created some on campus, visit:
gender-neutral bathrooms and www.colleglan.psu.edu
30 have created options for
gender-neutral housing.
Penn State has added gender identity and expression
to its non-discrimination policy and has created gender
neutral bathrooms but not gender-neutral housing,
according to the report.
Lynn Dubois, associate director of housing, said the
lack of gender-neutral housing at Penn State has not
been an issue.
“I haven’t had any requests for it," she said. “Typically,
if a student would come to me and request that type of
housing, we would work with Residence Life to make
See FACILITIES, Page 2.
Vote machines
may change
By lan Brown
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | idbsoo2@psu.edu
A Centre County voters group screened a report last
night at Schlow Centre Region Library in support of a
bill that would force voting machines to produce paper
records by the 2008 elections.
The bill is being debated this week in the U S. House
of Representatives, and while it has drawn praise from
groups like Concerned Voters of Centre County; it has
also been criticized for demanding too much of the coun
ty
Centre County currently uses iVotronic touch-screen
voting systems, which produce no paper record of votes.
Mary Vollero, Concerned Voters of Centre County
chairwoman, said the systems are the same system of
those that were used during the 2006 presidential elec
tion in Sarasota, Fla., when more than 18,000 votes were
lost and unable to be retrieved.
“If there’s a problem, there’s no way to do a transpar
ent investigation,” she said. “What would we do if votes
got lost? We need [paper records] in place as soon as
possible.”
Vollero said the bill would require Centre County to
See VOTING, Page 2.
Andrew Lala/Collegian
Students use touchscreen voting machines last fall.
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Offer gender
Britt Miller/Collegian
UPUA suggests changes
Student leaders offered three
recommendations on Penn
State’s Judicial Affairs report
By Lauren McCormack
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | Icmso27@psu.edu
Following an investigation of Penn State’s
Judicial Affairs that yielded 12 suggested
changes last week, the student govern
ment’s legal branch added three more rec
ommendations in a report submitted Mon
day.
Dance the night away
David Walker/Collegian
Erlick Navas (sophomore-petroleum engineering) and Harry Holt (graduate
health policy and administration) dance in the tango class held in the White
Building last night. For coverage of the dance classes, | LOCAL, Page 3.
Door-to-door magazine
sellers a scam, police say
By Andrew McGill
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | armso77@psu.edu
When a “Penn State student” showed
up at Molly Thomas' door selling maga
zines two weeks ago, yet couldn’t name
a single class in her own major, the
Beaver Hill resident knew something
was up.
The woman's excuse? “She said,
‘Penn State doesn't really want to know
about us going around,’ ” Thomas (jun
ior-nutrition) said.
Standing outside Thomas’ sixth-floor
apartment, the woman pressed a ratty
laminated pamphlet into her hands,
pressuring Thomas to buy subscrip
tions, so the seller could win a competi
tion. Thomas declined.
The woman asked again, adding that
she was currently in third place out of
2,100 people. Thomas still refused.
“She really wanted to sell this to me,”
Thomas said. “She was just really
cheesy. She mentioned how she would
have fundraised for Girl Scout cookies,
but said she’d eat them before she sold
them. I just wanted to laugh in her
face.”
Thomas wasn’t the only student to
receive a visit from strangers bearing
magazines. Multiple downtown resi
dents and neighboring municipalities
have complained of unlicensed door-to-
-JL. Published independently by students at Penn State
The initial report, commissioned by Penn iting a student’s extra-curricular activities if
State President Graham Spanier, was he or she is in violation of the Student Code
released to the public Sept. 10 and was led of Conduct. It also suggests that student
by vice provost emeritus Robert Secor. athletes facing disciplinary action be pro-
University Park Undergraduate Associa- vided with their own adviser through the
tion (UPUA) legal affairs responded to the Morgan Academic Support Center for Stu
report by drafting its own proposal that was dent Athletes. Additionally, high-profile, off
left at Spanier’s office, said Christian Nick- campus cases may be settled with discipli
erson, the organization’s director. nary warnings, subject to the university.
“Overall, our reaction to the initial report Though the branch thinks “the current
was quite positive,” said Matthew Lach- Judicial Affairs system functions fairly
man, the document s drafter and UPUA well,” the proposal addresses three issues
legal affairs director for town affairs. that members felt needed reforming
The changes addressed policies the com- University spokesman Bill Mahon said
mittee thought were outdated, such as lim- See UPUA, Page 2
door solicitors, the State College Police
Department said.
On Aug. 30, police cited Jeremy
Gatlin, an Austin, Texas native, for sell
ing magazines at Meridian Apartments,
636 E. College Ave. Police said they
have since received additional com
plaints from residents at other apart
ment complexes.
It’s never the same person or story.
Residents have described visits from a
heavyset blonde woman, a black
woman, a man with tattoos and others,
police said. Pitches follow a familiar
script: Solicitors are trying to win
“points” by selling magazine subscrip
tions, they’re poor college students and
they’re “oh-so-close” to their goal.
A woman told Nathan Hazi (junior
biochemistry and molecular biology)
two weeks ago that his subscriptions
would go toward her college financial
aid, but she didn’t mention how much it
would cost him. And before he knew
what was going on, “she had me signed
up,” the Highland Tower resident said.
“She gave me a receipt, and I looked
at the cost. It was over $60,” Hazi, who
later refused payment, said. “She didn’t
even mention the exact name of the
program she worked for.”
But another man, warned by police
on Aug. 31 for selling magazines with-
See SCAM, Page 2.
Bee There *
Bshenhower -
Auditorium
www.collegian.psu.edu
New meter
might help
students save
on electricity
By Christ! Brua
COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER | cmbs2l2@psu.edu
Electricity consumers in Pennsylvania may
soon have the option to curb energy use to
times when electricity costs the least, as
opposed to paying a flat rate for electricity,
which can be more costly.
A special session of the state legislature,
called by Gov. Ed Rendell, is meeting this week
to discuss issues of energy conservation and
foreign oil dependence.
One topic under discussion is the possibility
of requiring utility companies to provide con
sumers with up-to-date, market-based energy
prices and high-tech electricity meters, so con
sumers can control their energy use when
prices are high, according to a Sept. 14 press
release.
At their most advanced, these high-tech elec
tricity meters, known as “smart meters,” would
inform consumers of hourly changes in energy
prices, said David Neurohr, spokesman for
Allegheny Energy, the primary energy provider
for State College.
Chuck Ardo, Rendell’s press secretary, said
any place that is metered, including apart
ments, would be offered smart meters by elec
tric companies if the proposal passes as it is
now.
“It’s an effort to save consumers significant
amounts of money by allowing consumers to
time their energy use when prices are at their
lowest levels,” Ardo said.
Downtown realtors GN Associates, The
Apartment Store, Associated Realty Property
Management and Copper Beech Townhomes
all said they use Allegheny Energy.
Penn State purchases most of its electricity
from Allegheny Energy as well, said Paul
Ruskin, public affairs coordinator at Penn
State’s Office of Physical Plant. Penn State is
currently in the process of changing from
meters that need to be read manually to anoth
er model that can be read electronically, he
said.
Mike Prinkey, energy program engineer at
the physical plant, said eventually all of Penn
State’s utility systems will migrate to smart
metering.
Utility companies would “absolutely” pay for
the installation of the smart meters, Ardo said.
Neurohr said there would have to be a phase
in plan to determine who will make the meters
and how long installation will take. Additionally,
he said the responsibility of paying for the
meters still needs to be worked out in the pro
posal.
Allegheny Energy serves 710,000 consumers,
and there are several million consumers in the
state, Neurohr said. At $lOO to $4OO per meter,
production and installation would be costly for
the company. Still, Allegheny Energy supports
“the governor and his approach to energy,” he
said.
The smart meters would allow customers to
realize electricity is cheapest when demand is
lowest, such as during nights and weekends,
Ardo said. The hottest and coldest days of the
year will cost the most, Neurohr added.
“If you can plan to do a load of laundry in the
evening as opposed to mid-day, it would be
cheaper,” Ardo said.
The way energy billing currently works, con
sumers pay the same price per kilowatt-hour
no matter what time electricity is used. The
current method determines the price by taking
an average price of electricity per kilowatt-hour
during the month, Neurohr said. By paying the
market price for electricity, consumers may be
able to save 10 percent on their electricity bill,
he said.
However, Neurohr said not every consumer
would be open to the smart meter technology.
Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007